Basenji Rescue and Transport

Providing safe harbors and strong anchors for Basenjis set adrift

BUR

What is BUR?

The Basenji Underground Railroad (BUR) operates under the umbrella of Basenji Rescue and Transport, Inc. (A little-known fact is that BUR started operating slightly before our rescue work began.) BUR transportation happens after the adoption of a purebred BRAT Basenji is placed in its forever home. BUR is not a transportation service available to the general public.

How Does BUR Work?

BUR's mission is to transport our adopted purebred Basenjis from Point A to Point B. If a dog is in Texas and adopted in California, we rally BRAT volunteers who are willing to help us transport the dog to its new home. This process is a rewarding effort, but often challenging and emotional for our volunteers.

Depending on the length of the ground transport, multiple BRAT volunteers may be involvedin the run over several days. The transport is carefully planned by the dog's coordinator with the help of volunteers and the dog's new owner. We occasionally ask for help from other rescue organizations.

What Do BUR Volunteers Do?

BUR volunteers transport the dog relay style. The transport is accomplished by carefully planning a series of meeting points along the route to transfer the dog from one volunteer to the next. If the trip is more than a day (or the weather isn’t cooperative), the dog may stay overnight with the last BUR volunteer of the day and the trip resumes the next day.

Transporting by Air

In some cases, when a ground transport is not an option, coordinators will transport dogs by air. Bear in mind that not all dogs can be flown and not all coordinators will fly their dogs.

Here are some basics you need to know:

Health certificates are paid for by the adopter unless approved by the BRAT Board of Directors.

The flight and custom fees are paid by the adopter.

The adoption contract and fee must be received before a dog will be shipped. (Checks must clear. PayPal payment is highly encouraged in this case.)

Flying a dog is not without risk. We cannot guarantee the health and wellbeing of the dog once we put the dog on the plane and will not refund the adoption fee.

Flying arrangements are made between the adopter and the dog’s coordinator.

It is solely the coordinator’s decision to apply for the dog’s flight and set up the air transport.

The restrictions and policies of each individual airline apply.

BUR Volunteer Requirements

There is no mandatory service required for a BUR volunteer. A volunteer is not expected to participate in every transport that is planned in their area, or every transport about which he or she is contacted. Each volunteer makes a personal decision about whether or not to become involved in a particular transfer and to what extent.

Volunteering with BRAT or BUR

To find out more about becoming a volunteer click here. If you have questions about volunteering with BRAT, please contact us.